Energy

Mining Blue Gold: The Impact of Sea Industries on Europe

Published

9 years ago

January 12, 2015

Jeff Desjardins

Click below image to expand to full screen version.

Mining Blue Gold: The Impact of Sea Industries on Europe

There is always money to be made on the new frontier. Sometimes it may feel like the Wild West, but that’s where the opportunity is. That’s why there are about a dozen private space companies vying for domination outside the Earth’s atmosphere. It’s also the reason that there is a rising tide on the deep blue sea, where billions are being made each year.

This infographic focuses on Europe in particular, where the United Kingdom is nautical miles ahead of anyone else in terms of developing sea-related industries. In fact, just the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry is larger than the total coastal output of any other EU country. At a staggering €36 billion per year, it is over 60% bigger than Greece’s entire coastal output of €22 billion.

Offshore oil and gas, as a whole, is the second biggest industry relating to Europe’s coasts. It generates 80% of Europe’s oil in total, but is expected to half by 2030. The biggest industry is transport for cargo and passengers at a total of €55 billion and 40% of costs go towards fuel.

Coastal tourism is the third biggest industry as a whole at €49 billion and employs about 1.6 million Europeans. It’s the biggest industry on the coasts of places like Italy and Spain.

Original graphic from: Technologist

Related Topics:energy blue gold oil and gas shipping tourism europe united kingdom

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Energy

Who’s Building the Most Solar Energy?

China’s solar capacity triples USA, nearly doubles EU.

Published

3 days ago

May 5, 2024

Bruno Venditti

Chart showing installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in China, the EU, and the U.S. between 2010 and 2022, measured in gigawatts (GW).

Who’s Building the Most Solar Energy?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In 2023, solar energy accounted for three-quarters of renewable capacity additions worldwide. Most of this growth occurred in Asia, the EU, and the U.S., continuing a trend observed over the past decade.

In this graphic, we illustrate the rise in installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in China, the EU, and the U.S. between 2010 and 2022, measured in gigawatts (GW). Bruegel compiled the data..

Chinese Dominance

As of 2022, China’s total installed capacity stands at 393 GW, nearly double that of the EU’s 205 GW and surpassing the USA’s total of 113 GW by more than threefold in absolute terms.

Installed solar capacity (GW)	China	EU27	U.S.
2022	393.0	205.5	113.0
2021	307.0	162.7	95.4
2020	254.0	136.9	76.4
2019	205.0	120.1	61.6
2018	175.3	104.0	52.0
2017	130.8	96.2	43.8
2016	77.8	91.5	35.4
2015	43.6	87.7	24.2
2014	28.4	83.6	18.1
2013	17.8	79.7	13.3
2012	6.7	71.1	8.6
2011	3.1	53.3	5.6
2010	1.0	30.6	3.4

Since 2017, China has shown a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 25% in installed PV capacity, while the USA has seen a CAGR of 21%, and the EU of 16%.

Additionally, China dominates the production of solar power components, currently controlling around 80% of the world’s solar panel supply chain.

In 2022, China’s solar industry employed 2.76 million individuals, with manufacturing roles representing approximately 1.8 million and the remaining 918,000 jobs in construction, installation, and operations and maintenance.

The EU industry employed 648,000 individuals, while the U.S. reached 264,000 jobs.

According to the IEA, China accounts for almost 60% of new renewable capacity expected to become operational globally by 2028.

Despite the phasing out of national subsidies in 2020 and 2021, deployment of solar PV in China is accelerating. The country is expected to reach its national 2030 target for wind and solar PV installations in 2024, six years ahead of schedule.